Don't Tell Mom David Bowie's Dead
by Eileen
Summary: Set in early Season 12. The boys settle in for a movie night with their mother, but don't want to tell her that the star of the movie has recently passed away. Unfortunately, they forgot to let Cas know.


"All right!" Dean said, looking around at his handiwork. Not bad. Not bad at all. "We've got the snacks, we've got drinks, we've got the awesomely comfortable recliners, and the movie's ready to go. Yep, movie night is a go. C'mon, guys, let's get this started!"

Sam came in and took the middle seat. "What are we watching?"

"I thought we'd go with something family-friendly." He held up the DVD cover so his brother could see it.

" _Labyrinth_?"

"It's a classic! Besides, Mom loves David Bowie."

"Does she know he's-"

"Ssh!" Dean looked around to make sure Mom wasn't in earshot before he continued in a low voice. "No, she doesn't, and I want to keep it that way. At least until the movie's over. She's got enough to deal with right now. Let her get used to the time jump gradually."

"Yeah, right. Probably the best thing. The movie wouldn't be the same if she knew."

"Okay, so not a word, right?"

"Right."

Dean took the recliner on the left, the one with the sticking buttons. "Mom! C'mon, the movie's starting!" He picked up the remote and immediately hit MENU so they could skip all the previews and crap that came before a movie these days.

"Okay, okay!" Mary Winchester left her research and joined her boys in the TV room. "What movie is this?"

" _Labyrinth_ ," said Dean proudly. "It's a classic. We used to watch this all the time at about four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon on the old UHF channels, but you've never seen it before, so we won't spoil it."

She glanced at the DVD cover. "Is that David Bowie?"

"Yep. He wrote all the songs in this, too. You ready?"

Mary took a seat in the third recliner, the most comfortable one, and settled her bowl of popcorn on her lap. "I'm ready. Go ahead and start it."

Dean pressed PLAY.

For a movie that was thirty years old, it held up pretty well. All three Winchesters were so spellbound by the magic on the screen that they didn't even hear the rustle of wings that signaled Castiel's arrival. Dean didn't know Cas was there until he heard the angel ask, "What are you doing?"

Dean almost fell off his chair. "Dammit, Cas!" He hit PAUSE for a second. "We're watching a movie."

"Oh. Sorry to interrupt you."

"You can watch with us, if you can sit still and be quiet."

The angel looked around the room. "There don't appear to be any seats left."

"Sit on the floor. Or bring in a chair from the other room. Whatever."

Cas nodded and went to get one of the armchairs from the library. "Now what?"

"You want some popcorn? A beer?"

"No, thank you."

"All right, then. Just sit and watch the movie." He pressed PLAY again, and they picked up from where they had left off.

The ballroom scene was beautiful. Usually Dean would take the opportunity to get up and grab a beer or use the restroom during this scene, because he said that seeing Bowie romancing a fourteen-year-old gave him a creepy pedophile vibe. But this time he stayed in his seat, trying to see the film through his mother's eyes.

"This is amazing," Mary said.

"It's too bad there was never a sequel," said Sam, "apart from a graphic novel series."

"And now there never will be," Cas pointed out. "Since he's already passed."

"What?" Mary hit pause and turned around to face the angel.

Dean's face met his palm, and he groaned. He'd forgotten to tell Cas not to mention Bowie's death. "Yeah, we . . . we weren't gonna tell you till the movie was over, cause we didn't want to spoil it for you. But, yeah, he died in January. He had cancer for a year and a half, and no one knew until he was gone."

"He left us a last album that's supposed to be really great," said Sam. "I haven't listened to it yet, but . . . maybe we can listen to it together sometime."

"That would be nice," Mary said. "I just can't believe I'm living in a world without David Bowie in it. Can we go ahead and start this again?"

"Just a minute," said Dean. "I'm gonna go get myself another beer. And some popcorn. Cas, I'm gonna need your help carrying the stuff back."

Cas cocked his head to the side. "Are you sure? I should think you could handle one beer and a bowl of popcorn."

"Just **come with me** ," he insisted, the last three words taking on a particular intonation due to his clenched teeth.

Castiel followed Dean out of the room to the kitchen. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No . . . yeah . . . well, I should have told you, and I forgot. We weren't gonna tell Mom about David Bowie dying until after the movie was over. You know, she's having enough trouble adjusting to being back in the world after thirty years away, and so many people have died that she knew. We just wanted to make it easier on her."

"Ah. I wasn't aware that she didn't know. My apologies."

"My fault, man. I should have told you." He waited for the popcorn to finish popping and then shook it into a big wooden bowl, then went to the fridge and took out a bottle of beer. "You sure you don't want one, man?"

"I . . . don't drink."

"I'll have an extra one for you, then." He grabbed a second bottle, thought about it, and grabbed two more, in case Mom or Sam wanted a refill.

He sat back down again and reached for the remote, but Mary was still holding it.

"Before we go back to the movie," she said, "I'd just like to say something. I have personally slain fourteen werewolves, ten ghouls, two vampires, and something that I'm still not sure what it was, but I made damn sure that it was dead when I was through. I've salted and burned more bones than I could count. I am **not** going to keel over and die-again-just because I hear some bad news about a singer whose records I spent my formative years listening to over and over again. You don't need to protect me from the truth. I can handle it, boys. So if anyone else has died, you might as well tell me now."

"Should I recite the entire list?" Cas asked. "This year alone will take at least an hour, if not more. What was it you said, Dean? You called it a mass extinction event for celebrities, is that right?"

Mary turned and looked at him. "Mass extinction? Just what has been going on here while I've been away?"

Dean slumped in his seat, grumbling, "Next time we have a movie night, Cas, keep your freaking mouth shut!"


End file.
